I laughed once and flung open the driver’s side door and climbed behind the wheel. Then, I started the engine and flipped a switch, and immediately, red lights bounced off of the walls of the station and back into the cab. My eyes scanned the gauges in the dash. Everything looked okay. My attention then turned to the captain’s door when I saw it fly open. I watched as the captain climbed into the seat next to mine, and seconds later, Mike followed, jumping into the back.
As soon as the doors slammed shut, I let off the brake and stepped on the gas. And when the front tires hit the street, I reached up and flipped another switch. Instantly, loud sirens poured from the top of the truck.
We arrived at the address on the scanner within minutes, almost beating the chief, who had just pulled up in his own vehicle. There was a woman standing outside with two, small children. I recognized the woman’s face. She was new in town — just moved into old-man McConnell’s house. I had met her at the hardware store just last week.
“You got this one, Will?” the captain asked.
“Yes, sir,” I said.
“Okay, we’re just going to go on inside then and check things out,” he said.
“All right,” I replied, as I pulled the truck near the curb on the street.
As soon as the engine stopped, the two guys in the cab with me slid out, and I followed after them.
“Ms. Evans,” I said, greeting the woman with a head nod.
She smiled. I wasn’t sure if she recognized me or not. She looked a little shaken. The two kids in her arms looked as if they couldn’t be any older than seven. One looked scared, maybe on the verge of tears. The other, however, was bright-eyed and seemed to be more fascinated by the fire engine’s lights and the strange men wearing space suits on his lawn than any threat of danger. I smiled at the kids and then looked back up at their mother.
“Did you smell any smoke, ma’am?” I asked her.
I watched as the captain, Mike and the chief opened the door to the house and slipped in. Then, I saw the woman shake her head.
“No,” she said, softly, squeezing her children closer. “The smoke detector went off in my daughter’s room. I couldn’t smell anything, but I just wanted to be sure. It’s an old house, you know. Maybe I shouldn’t have called, but I just wanted to be sure…”
I stopped her.
“I’m glad you called,” I said, gently smiling. “We’ll take a look. We’ll make sure there’s nothing unusual.”
A soft smile started to grow on the woman’s face. Then, she took a deep breath and then forced it out.
“Thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome, ma’am,” I said and then made my way toward her front door.
Just inside the heavy storm door, I could already tell the house was in a world better shape than when old-man McConnell had the place. There were curtains now, and the blinds were open. And there weren’t stacks of newspapers sitting in dark corners anymore. I scanned the first level one more time. Then, I headed up the stairs to the second floor and saw the captain and the chief when I reached the top of the steps.
“Anything?” I asked.
They shook their heads.
“She said the smoke detector in the daughter’s room went off,” I said.
“Yeah, there’s no smoke, no smell, nothing burning,” the captain said. “The smoke detector in one of the rooms needed its batteries changed. Was that a girl’s room, Mike?”
“With the detector?” Mike called out from down the hallway.
“Yeah,” the captain hollered back.
“Yeah, I think so,” Mike bellowed. “It looked like it, unless the boy has some obsession with The Powerpuff Girls.”
The chief shot me a puzzled look.
“What the hell is he talking about?” he asked. “How does he know that?”
I laughed and shook my head.
“I don’t know,” I said. “It’s Mike.”
“Anyway,” the captain said. “We put new batteries in the girl’s room. Otherwise, it looks fine. I think we’re clear.”
“All right,” I said, turning back down the stairs.
The chief followed after me, and the captain and Mike followed after him.
“This place looks a lot different from when old-man McConnell lived here,” Mike said, legging behind us.
“You miss the dust and the cobwebs, Mike?” I asked him.
“Yeah, that and the cigar smell,” he said, laughing.
I laughed once and then made my way to the front door and pushed through it.
“Ms. Evans,” I said, nearing her. “Everything looks fine. We changed the batteries in your daughter’s smoke detector. But if it goes off again or if you think anything’s unusual, don’t hesitate to call us again.”
The woman bashfully smiled.
“The hardware store,” she said.
I paused for a moment.
“Yes, ma’am,” I said, smiling.
“Will,” she said.
I nodded my head.
“Yes, ma’am,” I said.
I watched her lips rise at their corners.
“Thank you,” she said.
I smiled again, then tipped my hat and made my way back to the engine.
“Hey, baby,” I said, hopping back into my truck. “Where are you?”
She giggled and said something to someone in the background.
“Is that Jeff?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said.
I could tell that she was smiling on the other end of the phone.
“He misses you,” she said.
Jeff rambled off something else, but I couldn’t understand it.
“I don’t care if he does,” I said.
“Well, I miss you too,” she said.
I smiled into the phone.
“Where are you guys?” I asked.
“Jeff’s,” she said.
“Just you two?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said, laughing at something Jeff had said again.
I paused and waited for Jeff’s mouth to quit running in the background.
“Okay, I’ll be there in five minutes,” I said.
I threw down the phone and forced the truck into gear.
A handful of minutes later I was parked on the street in front of Jeff’s house. His porch light was on, but from the way it looked, every other light in the house was off. I furrowed my brows for a second as I stared into a dark window but then brushed off the foolish thought. Then, I got out, walked to his front door and pushed it open. The darkness on the other side of the door blinded me, until I reached for the switch on the wall and flipped it on.
“Julia,” I called out. “Jeff.”
I listened for a second but didn’t hear anything. Then, I shuffled through the living room and then the kitchen, until I saw the back porch light on and then heard their voices.
“Hey,” I said, stepping out onto the deck.
Julia jumped.
“Will,” she exclaimed, forcing her hand to her heart, “you scared me.”
My eyes went to her first. She was lounging back in a chair. Her feet were propped up on the porch’s railing. Jeff, on the other hand, was on the opposite side of the porch, sitting in a chair with his feet propped up on a cooler.
I took a second. My mind was definitely playing tricks on me. It was either that or it was the thought of all those college guys looking at Jules the way I knew they were looking at her that was making me paranoid. Jeff was my best friend. He might well be an idiot sometimes, but he’d never purposefully hit on Jules — not anymore anyway.
“I called for you guys at the door,” I said, pulling out a chair from the table and scooting it next to Julia’s.
“Sorry about dinner, Jules,” I said, kissing her on the lips.
“Me and your girlfriend were just talking about you,” Jeff interjected.
I turned my attention to Jeff and then forced it back to Julia.